


Satellites

by amadridlover



Category: Free!
Genre: Driving, Haru appears briefly, M/M, Pining, Rain, a lot of thinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-28
Updated: 2016-10-28
Packaged: 2018-08-27 11:26:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8399878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/amadridlover/pseuds/amadridlover
Summary: Sousuke was royally screwed. Because, that’s when it hit him. Well you see, it’s not his fault he didn’t notice until bloody Tachibana waltzed into his life. But Sousuke finally realised that shit, he might actually have a bit of a thing for his best friend and crap, he didn’t have the right to do anything about it because Sousuke could be cruel but not even he was low enough to try and brake up Rin with his saint-of-a-boyfriend.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I just really really wanted to write something. I've lost my ability to write these past 2 years, everything feels forced but I'm trying to keep at it. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this even a little bit. It hasn't been beta'd so sorry if there are any mistakes. 
> 
> Comments/kudos are always appreciated. I'm always happy to talk about Free! so feel free to drop me a line <3

 

 

 

Sousuke is out of options, so he _runs._ He’s tried to push past it; he’s tried to just deal with it but nothing can make his feelings go away. And Sousuke _hates._

If there was a medal for the world’s worst person, Sousuke thinks that just maybe it would go to him. He tries to be a good person. He always helps the old lady next door carry her groceries in to her house, he always remembers his friends’ birthdays. He’s even been saving money recently to give to Gou as a going-away present, knowing that her exchange program to England isn’t going to come cheap. But none of the above makes his present predicament okay.

 

Sousuke hates Tachibana Makoto, quite possibly the world’s best person.

 

He remembers the first time he met him. Rin had dragged him to a friend’s house party, telling him there was someone he just _had_ to meet. Sousuke remembers feeling a sense of dread and dislike, before even turning up to the apartment, blaring music and all only adding to his misgivings. You see, Sousuke was a quiet kind of guy, private. He didn’t like large parties in general and he especially didn’t like parties where he didn’t know anyone.

 

He had texted Rin when he arrived and met him inside the flat. Beside Rin was this dopey-looking guy with brown fluffy hair and a big smile and judging from the way the guy’s arm was wrapped around Rin’s lower back Sousuke knew that he was bad news.

 

Being Sousuke isn’t an easy thing. For one, there’s the fact that he moved to America—to New York of all places—so he could stay with his best friend. They’d grown up together but when Rin left to Australia Sousuke’s life had lost some if its meaning and he’s be damned if he let that happen again. A second thing, well, his shoulder got fucked in his first month here when he went to the swimming tryouts at his college, hoping to at least keep some consistency with his life back in Japan. But it’s okay, you see, he was working through it. He was improving. And then Rin hit him with the bombshell. He had a _boyfriend_ of all things and Sousuke was just going to _love_ him and he couldn’t wait for his best friend to meet the guy of his dreams.

 

Sousuke was royally screwed.

 

Because, that’s when it hit him. Well you see, it’s not his fault he didn’t notice until bloody _Tachibana_ waltzed into his life. But Sousuke finally realised that _shit,_ he might actually have a bit of a thing for his best friend and _crap,_ he didn’t have the right to do anything about it because Sousuke could be cruel but not even he was low enough to try and brake up Rin with his saint-of-a-boyfriend.

 

So, Sousuke _runs._

Well, not literally, because that would be totally impractical.

 

Sousuke has been driving for an hour and it’s pelting down with rain and his mind hasn’t cleared at all which makes him _so frustrated,_ like even more than he was before.

 

“Damn it,” he says to no-one.

 

The roads here are unfamiliar, he’s still new enough to New York to not have explored it properly, let alone deviate to the suburbs. He doesn’t really have a plan, he had just come home from a painstakingly slow training session at the pool—well more like rehabilitation for him—where he had to watch Tachibana charmingly flirt with his best friend, his stupid encouraging face grinding on Sousuke’s nerves and he just knew he had to get out of there. He had rushed in the showers which earned him a look of surprise from Rin, who knew he usually had to drag Sousuke away from the hot, soothing water that worked like wonders on his shoulder.

 

“Sou— “, Rin had called out and Sousuke replied with a grunted half-assed “got to go”, and that was that. Sousuke had run to his car, shoved the keys in the ignition and he was on his way.

 

His phone distracts him from his reverie, and Sousuke blindly feels for it, both eyes on the road. Bringing the screen close to his eyes—he’s forgotten his reading glasses at home—he sees Matsuoka Rin and chucks his phone back onto the passenger seat. Truth be told, he’s kind of glad to see Rin’s texted, glad to see that he could get his eyes off Tachibana’s ass for five seconds to realise that his best friend’s being weird. His fondness for Rin is easy to see in these moments, where his friend’s kindness and worry warm his heart. 

 

But Sousuke isn’t ready to face Rin.

 

How does one tell their best friend since they were five that um, hey, they’ve fallen in love with them and er, they should totally brake up with their six-foot-tall, model-of-a-boyfriend to be with the guy they used to throw spit-balls with? Sousuke mentally slaps himself because this is his own stupid fault for falling in love with Rin and oh my God did he seriously just compare Rin’s boyfriend to a model?

 

The hardest part of hating Tachibana is that when Rin’s not there it’s actually really hard to, and he has to constantly remind himself that this guy is his _competition_ and they can’t be _friends._ No way. But Tachibana doesn’t really get the hint and insists on getting to know Sousuke because he’s Rin’s best friend and wouldn’t it be wonderful if they too became friends and then they can all hang out together and won’t it just make Rin _so happy._ Away from Rin, Sousuke has to admit that the guy is perfect in the annoying, I-hate-your-guts kind of way. He’s got this kind nature about him that doesn’t feel forced at all, it’s like this crazy altruism where the guy is nice just because that’s the way it is. At first, Sousuke doesn’t trust him, and he watches Tachibana like a hawk to find his weakness. It doesn’t end up being that hard, heck, the guy brings it up by himself.

 

“So um, I am totally scared of the ocean, did you know that?”

 

Sousuke looked at him like he was on drugs. “You’re a fucking life guard, what do you mean you’re scared of the ocean?”

 

Tachibana has the grace to look embarrassed.

 

“Ha, yeah well, it’s fine if it’s an indoor pool or something. Um, but I am super afraid of open water, anything where the water’s not controlled.”

 

The worst thing is he finds himself feeling sorry for Tachibana’s stupid, shining, honest-to-God eyes, looking at him like all he really wants to do is confide in him or something. Sousuke wishes for the hundredth time that Rin has chosen a dickhead, someone cruel, someone that used him and exploited him—someone he could hate more easily. Then Sousuke wouldn’t feel so guilty.

 

And Sousuke hates himself for admitting that.

 

\--

 

**[9:02]:**

**1 New Message:**

**_Are you okay?_ **

\--

 

**[9:17]:**

**_Seriously, Sou, answer my text. Makoto is worried about you because you looked upset._ **

\--

 

Sousuke groans.

 

\--

 

It’s 11:49 and he’s been driving for hours, aimlessly because truthfully nothing makes sense right now. He needs to pull over somewhere and get his mind of things, he’s too distracted.

 

The traffic is non-existent and the rain has come to a stop in the last hour, leaving behind wet roads and flooded gutters. Sousuke pulls into a short parking strip near a 24-hour diner he’s just managed to spot.

 

 

 

 

**[11:51]:**

 

**_Where the fuck are you?_ **

 

\--

 

Warm air hits him as he opens the door, the open sign tapping against the glass softly. Sousuke enters quickly, brushing his feet on the doormat and removing his coat. It’s a cosy place, and all he wants is a coffee to help him focus.

 

He sits down at a booth towards the back of the shop. Sousuke lets himself sink into the leather seat, resting his head in his hands. He sighs. If he wasn’t so messed up with his emotions he thinks he could’ve fallen asleep just like that.

 

“Would you like a menu?” a voice asks, startling him. Sousuke looks up to see a guy in a black apron, his face apathetic as shit, waving a menu in his face, not even pretending to care about customer service.

 

“Sure,” Sousuke grunts. The waiter nearly dumps the menu on him, huffing slightly as he walks away with a barely muttered “let me know when you’re ready.”

 

The guy’s apparent distaste of his job amuses him, but Sousuke doesn’t know why. He flicks through the menu but doesn’t really read anything.

 

On the waiter’s second circle of the room Sousuke beckons him over with a raised hand.

 

“Coffee,” Sousuke tells him, and the guy just stares at him for a second before blinking and nodding slightly.

 

Sousuke can feel his eyes start to droop.

 

The thing is, he doesn’t really have any answers and that scares him. It’s stressing him out to no end. He doesn’t know what he’s going to tell Rin. He doesn’t know _how_ to tell him or even if he should. Sousuke knows that the knot in his stomach only tightens whenever he sees Rin with Tachibana, a constant reminder of the fact that Rin was slipping through his fingers, that they were falling apart slowly. Sousuke couldn’t bear it. It’s always been them. Even when Rin was in Australia, and they had lost a bit of contact, Rin still came back. But not this time. Rin wasn’t going to come back.

 

It’s only until a drop falls on his clenched hands that Sousuke realises he’s crying and he wipes at his tears furiously, blinking them away.

 

Lost in his thoughts it doesn’t register until a few seconds later that the waiter has brought him his coffee. He clutches at it almost desperately to give himself something to do that isn’t crying or thinking about Rin but only manages to achieve the first.

 

The coffee scorches his tongue but he heat is pleasant, spreading throughout his body like a tight hug.

 

It takes him a couple of sips to regain some control and he ventures raising his head. He is surprised to find the waiter approaching him with a plate.

 

“On the house,” the guy says, dropping it roughly on the table. Sousuke knows he must look surprised, because the waiter hesitates before adding, “you look like you needed it.” He moves on to the next table with the same, apathetic walk and Sousuke just stares.

 

On the plate are some pancakes. They look like dolphins. Sousuke reaches over for the maple syrup. He also _smiles_.

 

 

 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Title inspired by the idea that satellites are in orbit, and keep circling round and round. So even if Sousuke feels like he's losing Rin, he will keep circling and eventually come back to him. He's never really gone. That's how I view their friendship. Even through ups and downs and any other disturbances, they always find one another again. I also think that Haru's presence gives Sousuke some hope, something to smile about. Just a little act of kindness in a time where Sousuke is struggling. So Sousuke will come back to his old self, it just takes a bit of time circling around to do so. 
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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